House of Wax

This movie is really creepy and has stuck with me for years. I don't understand why people want to hate on it. Yeah the actors aren't the greatest but it's not like horror movies are known for their amazing acting. It's good enough.

House Of Wax is pretty much everything I like in a horror movie. The killers were creepy and freaky but not too over the top. The murders were genuine and realistic looking while the cinematography was great! Carly Jones (Elisha Cuthbert) and her boyfriend, Wade (Jared Padalecki) are going to the big college football game with a group of friends and her brother, Nick (Chad Michael Murray). Along the way, they get tired and look for a place to camp out for awhile and get some rest. As you can imagine, car problems end up keeping them from getting out of their hidden campsite. Carly and Wade head for the small town of Ambrose, which seems strange on the surface.

This is where the real action begins. While I admit that the movie took it's time getting to the good stuff, it was well worth the wait. The special effects department have outdone themselves. Especially when it comes to the house made of wax, itself.

I was very surprised by the low rating given by the IMDb users. I should not be, but I was. Do not be fooled. If you are into horror movies, then this one comes highly recommended. In fact, it has inspired me to see the original and will do so first chance I get. 8/10

I do not think that this movie deserves the low rating that most will give it. It's one of the best "teenager" horror films I've ever seen; and that's saying a lot. Nothing is left without an explanation to back it up, the characters and plot break countless horror movie stereotypes, and it has got nothing to do with some other horrible pieces we've been submitted to lately. (A clear example is the mindless "Saint Ange".) The first 30-40 minutes might be downright boring with the exception of the beginning, although some minor light mistakes can be easily spotted. After the arrival to the village, though, the horror -a different, twisted kind of horror- begins.

With the plot and the details, goofs are minor; the characters are this movie's strongest point, given that so many clichés are broken in it. For example, the two main male characters, Nick and Wade, are not by any means the idiotic types we're used to; although Dalton might fit better in this stereotype, not is he the only one to pay for this lack of consciousness. Some scenes are truly, satisfyingly horrible, making up for tense moments scattered around all the film. And, in the end, and although everything is decorously explained, it's easy to see that things won't go so easy to the surviving characters.

The only errors I can see, and which do not imply continuity (IE, Carly not finding her own cut finger in the unconscious Bo's pockets) is the illumination, which is somehow annoying during the first, boring 30 minutes. Although, plot and effects-wise, everything is drastically and cruelly twisted with the arrival of the main characters to Ambrosia, that little village in the midst of nothing, so I'll give it that. It's been pretty much argued that about 70% of the movie is illogical; "How can two people build an entire house of wax?", "Where do they get all the wax from?". These wouldn't be uprising questions if people would have paid more attention to the movie. The Sinclair brothers did not build the House of Wax; their mother worked making actual wax figures, and they were exhibited at the museum. And the scenario where Paris Hilton's unfortunate character meets her untimely death is the answer to the second question; what is with all the personal objects (mobile phones, cars, clothes) of the dead people? Using their third brother as a connection with the exterior, it's pretty much arguable that the Sinclair twins should obtain the money necessary to buy the wax, in a WWII-type fashion.

So, that aside, I think the movie deserves a lot more than it gets, and nobody should lose the chance to watch it. So go see the House of Wax. Right now.

Horror films are like comedies. If you have a comedy, and you laugh a lot, the film works. With a horror film it's the same. If you're scared a lot, then the film worked. House of Wax scared me a lot, so therefore, I must have liked it. Don't get me wrong. This film isn't anything special and by no means is it not without loads of clichés and problems and stupid teenagers. But it is scary, entertaining, gory, and fun.

I barely remember the original Vincent Price film. I think I saw it when I was 5 or 6 years old on TV. This film has a group of teenagers, one of them being Paris Hilton, on their way to a football game and stops at roadside to camp for the night. The next day they realize that their car has been tampered with and naturally they do everything stupid to try and get it fixed including trusting every creep that tries to help them. They separate and end up in a town that looks like something out of a Twilight Zone episode which includes a house made out of wax. There is a legend behind this town that involves some wax sculptress and her freaky twin boys. Are they still lurking around? You just know that all our teens will find out.

House of Wax has a real creepiness to it. The actors, which many of them are from The WB network and the other from Fox, seems to fit right into this genre. I like these kind of films if done well, and this one is done pretty well. I was scared a lot and if I'm watching a horror film, that's OK with me and therefore i'm recommending the movie despite all it's clichés you've probably seen 100 times before. (**1/2)

One of the good horror movies. I don't know why people are complaining so much. Acting is fine, the horror is there, there's enough suspense, the plot is okay. I really enjoyed it.